The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1887-02-04

absolutely nothing, It goes TO the dying bed
and fills the man with anticipations. How
much better it would bs for him to have
him die without any more hope than swine
and rats and snakes. That is all. Nothing
more LETT OF him. He will never know any
thing again. Shovel him underl
Tns soul Is only superior part CT tho
body, and when ths body disintegrates the
soul disintegrases. AnnihilatioD, vacancy,
everlasting blank, obiiteration. Why not
present all that beautiful doctrine to the
dying, instead of something with this hoax.
this swindle Of the Christian religion, ami
filing the dying man with anticipaslsns OF
another life, until soma in the last hour
have clapped their hands. and some have
shouted, and some hays sung, AMI
some have been SO overwrcught
with joy they could only loo.l
ecssatic. Palace gates opening, they
thought; diamond corcnets flashing; hands
reckoning; orchestras sounding. Little
children dying, actually believing they saw
their departed parents, SO that, although
the little children had been so weak, ard
feeble, and sick for weeks, they could not
turn on their dying pillow. at the last, in
paroxysn OF rapture uncomfortable, they
sprang to their feet and shouted: Mother,
catch mel l am comingi"
And to show the immensely of this de-
lGsicn. this awful swindle of the Gospel OF
Jesus Christ. open hospital and bring
into that hospital the death-be of a great
many Christian paople, and l take you by
the hand this morning, and l walk CD and
down the wards or shat hospital, a.i l asls
& few questions. ask: Dying Stephen,
! what have you to sayl'' Lord Jesus, re-
ceive my spirit" dying John Wesley,
what have you to sayln THE best Of all
is, Col is with US" dying Edward
Payson, what have you to say"
Il foat in a sea of glory" "Dy-
ing John Bradford, what hare you to
sayl" IF there be any way OF
gong to Heaven on horseback, or in a fiery
chariot, it is this" "Dying Neander.
| what have you to sayl" II am going to
sleep nov-good-night" dying Mrs.
Florence Foster, what have you to
| sayi'' "a pilgrim in the valley, but
| the mountain tops all CLEAN from
peak to peak ~ dying Alexander Mather,
| what have you to saylr "The Lord VINO
has taken care of me fifty years will not
cast me OF now; glory be to God and to
the Lamb! Amen. amen, amen, e:Ien!r
dying John Fowson, after preach
| ing the Gospel SO may years, wnat
| have YOU to say!' my death bed
is bod of roses.'' dying DR.. Thomas
| Scott, what have you to say.r "Eoys,
am going to the front" Dying telegraph
operator on the battlefield CT Virginia,
what have you to say.'' The wires arc
all laid, and the poles are up from Stony
Point to headquarters dying Paul,
what have you to say,'' II am ready now
to be offered. and the time OF my departure
is at hand: have fought the good fight. l
have finished riy course. / have kept III.
faith o death, where is thy stings o
grave. where is thy victory. Thanks be
unto God, who glveth Us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ"
Q, my Lord. my God. what deIusion;
| what glorious delusi0n! SUbmerCe me
+! with it, ell my eyes and ears with it, put
| il under my dying head for pillow-this
dsiusion; spread it over me for canopy,
put 1t underneath me for an out-spread
| wing-roll it over me in ocean surges ten
thousand fathoms deepi O. il iufidelity,
and if atheism, and if humiliation are a
reality, and the Christian religion is de-
fusion, give me the delusionl
The strong conclusion OF every man and
woman in the house is that Christianity.
producing such grand results. can not be a
telusion. A lie. a cheat, q Swindle. an hal
| lucination can not launch such glory of the
centuries. Your logic and your common
sense convince you that a base cause can
not produce an iilustrious result; out OF
the womb Of such q monster no s-ca angel
can be born.
There are many In this house this morn
ing, in the galleries and on the main Goor,
who began with thinking that the Chris
tan religion was a stupid farce. who have
come to the conclusion that it is {. reality.
| Why are you here to-day, Why did you
sing this song. Way I'D you bow your
heal in the opening rraycrl Why did You
| bring YOUR family with you. Why, wnen
tell you OF the ending of all trials in the
| bosom Of God, 10 there stand tears in your
eyes-no. tears Of grief. but tears of JOY,
such as stand in the eyes of homesick chill
Gren far away at school when SOME one
talks to them about going homel Why
| is it that you can be SO calmly
submissive to the death OF your
loved one, about whose departure
you cnce were so angry and so rebeIlious!
There is something the matter with you.
All your friends have found out there is a
great change. And if some of you would
give your exp renee. you would give it IN
scholarly style, and others giving your ex-
perience would give it in broken style, but
the one experience would De Just as good
as the other. Some Of you have read
evory thing. You are scientific and you
are scholarly, and yet if should ask you:
What is the most sensible thing you ever
did,n you would say: 1.-THE most sensible
thing I ever did was to give my heart to
Gcd"
Blu. there may be others here who have
not had early advantages aud if they
were asked to give their experience. they
might rise and give such testimony as the
man gave in a prayer-meeting when he
said: "On my way here tonight, I met a
man who asked mo where l was going.
said: Il am going to prayer meet
ing' He said: There are Q good
many religious, and l think the
most Of them are decisions; as &c
the Christian religion, that is only
I. notion, tia. is mere notion, the Chris
tian religion said to him: Stranger,
you see that tavern over tterer Yes,
he said i see it DO you see mer Yes,
of course see you' Now, the time was
as every body in this town knows, that if ]
J had quarter Of a dollar in my pocket could
not pass that tavern without going in and
getting drink; all the people Of Jefferson
could not keep me out of that place; but God
| mas cnanseu my neart anu the LORD Jesus
Christ has destroyed my thirst for strong
} drink, and there is nv whole weeks
. wages. and have no temptation to go in
there; and stranger, if this is notion,
want to tell you it is a mighty powerful
notion; it IS notion that has put clothes
on my children's hack, and it is notion
} that has put good food On our table, aud i,
is notion that has filed my mouth with
thanksgiving to God And, stranger, you
had better go along with me, you nigh,
os,f relirinn too: lofs of neonla are oeftin G